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Check out all the matches today involving NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams and how to follow them live.
No. 2/2 UCLA (7-1, 0-0 MPSF) vs. No. 3/4 Hawai’i (7-0, 0-0 Big West)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Honolulu
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, Radio feed, In-match tweets
What to know: No. 3/4 Hawai’i provided its fan with a reason to return to the rematch against No. 2/2 UCLA. The Rainbow Warriors and the Bruins will conclude their two-match non-conference series after Hawai’i playing with a home crowd of 4,748 people defeated UCLA on Friday. Hawai’i opposite Rado Parapunov in the series opener between two previously undefeated teams led all players with 15 kills and had a career-high three aces. Parapunov was one of three Rainbow Warriros with double-digit kills in the victory. All-American outside attacker Stijn van Tilburg had 13 kills — his third match with double-digit kills this season — and outside attacker Brett Rosenmeier added 10 kills. Hawai’i in the four-game victory held UCLA to less than a .150 attack percentage in each of the final two games. In addition, setter Joe Worsley and All-American libero Larry Tuileta both finished with double-digit kills. Despite the loss, UCLA All-American setter Micah Ma’a had a season-high four aces. The former Hawaiian high school player of the year enters this series finale with multiple aces in all but three matches so far this season and is among the national leaders with 14 aces. If Hawai’i beats UCLA, it would be the second time since 2006 that the Rainbow Warriors swept a two-match home series against the Bruins. A victory would also extend the Rainbow Warriors’ home winning streak to 26 matches.
No. 3/5 Ohio State (4-2, 0-0 MIVA) vs. No. 8/8 Penn State (3-1, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 2 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Series history: Best of Ohio State vs. Penn State in rally scoring era
What to know: There likely will not be any shortage of offense between No. 3/5 Ohio State and No. 8/8 Penn State. The only two Big Ten schools with men’s volleyball programs enter their first of two non-conference matches against each other this season both in the nation’s top 10 hitting more than .300. Penn State leads the EIVA and is third nation with a .346 attack percentage, including hitting more than .500 in both of its first two matches of the season. In addition, Ohio State is hitting .302 and is coming off of a season-high .448 attack percentage in a sweep against St. Francis on Thursday. All-American outside attacker Nicolas Szerszen continues to lead the MIVA with a 4.00 kills per game average. The latest offensive addition for the Buckeyes, though, has been freshman opposite Jake Hanes. Hanes was inserted into the starting lineup for three of the last four matches and has double-digit kills in each those matches he started. In addition, Hanes had a match-high 19 kills on a .471 attack percentage in the victory against St. Francis. Preseason All-American opposite Calvin Mende leads Penn State and is fourth in the EIVA with a 3.07 kills per game average, while all-conference outside attacker Aidan Albrecht is averaging 3.06 kills per game. Both Mende and Albrecht also had at least 15 kills in Penn State’s five-game victory against No. 13 USC last week. The defending-NCAA champions Ohio State defeated USC last week at the AVCA Showcase but is still attempting to get its first win of the season versus a top-10 ranked team. Ohio State is 0-2 so far in those matches with non-conference losses to No. 5/3 BYU and No. 2/2 UCLA. This match-up between Big Ten schools will also feature some of the top servers in the nation. Szerszen, the 2017 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Server of the Year, has a combined seven aces in his last four matches. In addition, Penn State opposite Jalen Penrose began the weekend fourth in the nation with a 0.60 aces per game average.
No. 14 Ball State (4-3, 0-0 MIVA) vs. George Mason (2-5, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Fairfax, Virginia
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets